Under the heavy snowfall, a small group of about ten hunters slowly emerged from the edge of the Eflo Woodland, mounting on their respective War Souls.
They were Dandelion Village's group of strongest individuals and also the idols in the children's eyes.
Each of the men was incomparably tall and strong, with a body full of bronze-colored muscle under the seemingly ragged coat which their wives has to stay up late at night to carefully sew them together from beast furs.
Surprisingly, while carrying large bows and heavy broad swords on their back, everyone in the group looks rather grim even though the hunt has already ended.
With a few minor spoils hanging on their waist, all of them were on alert at all times.
Although a few of the hunters are wounded with their winter coats shredded, exposing parts of their bodies to the piercing cold breeze, they continued to march on and were unflinching.
With each step firm and steady, they silently traveled in the cold.
Here, the Eflo Woodland was not the only dwelling place of fierce Spirit and Demon Beasts. Dangers could be looming at any corner, and it would require only a moment of carelessness; these hunters could potentially lose their lives.
As the temperature was too unfriendly, the stream's surface was frozen solid, making a thick layer of ice with water flowing underneath.
The War Souls walk alongside the frozen stream, following a familiar path, making their way back to Dandelion Village.
...
"Haaa... We are finally back." Seeing the familiar settlement from afar, one of the hunters named Cal heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, brothers, I will head back first then. See you all later."
"Alright, be careful. Your wound looks rather heavy." Dan, the strongest member of the hunting team, remark with a worried face.
He was very tall and muscular, a little over two-meter in height, with short hair and a slightly grown beard five o'clock shadow, which magnifies the sharpness of his jawline.
"There are still a few stalks of healing herbs back at my house; I will bring it over later." (Dan)
"No need, I still have some." Cal shook his head and waved it off with a wry smile. "Use it on yourself; you're not in any better shape than me."
"..."
"Alright, see you later." Dan nodded; he didn't insist on the matter anymore. "Said hello to Pickle for me."
During the hunt, he was also wounded by a spirit beast, and albeit the deep wound on his stomach was being suppressed by his spirit energy, fresh blood still oozing out from it from time to time.
Although Dan was an Eight-Stars Warrior, the extended blood loss has caused his stoic face to look rather pale at the moment.
Then, after patting Cal on the shoulder, he also parted way with the other and headed to the old village chief's house.
The day was not over yet.
__
"Eh? You're back!" Seeing Dan's familiar silhouette stepping into the house, Old Fei exclaimed exaggeratedly. "What are you even doing here? Go back and tend to your injury!"
"It's fine; I here to talk about a serious matter," Dan sat on a chair and said casually.
"Tsk! look, now your blood is all over the floor. Do you want my old bone to die sooner by cleaning it afterward?"
Disregarding the old chief's attitude, Dan let him know about their encounter during the hunt with a dark expression.
This time, the hunt was a failure.
Something has happened inside the mountain, their usual hunting ground, and frightened all the weaker beasts to migrate to another place.
They couldn't catch any note-worthy prey, while a few of their strong men and their War Soul also obtained some injuries that would take days to recover.
For a spirit beast, even after becoming a War Soul, they were still a living being that needs to eat and could also get injured from battle. Their consumption is often many times higher than a human's.
Food has always been a problem.
Although their village has already stocked up a good amount of food during the yielding season, however, if they don't go out to hunt, they won't be able to last through winter.
Gradually, Old Fei's expression dimmed and filled with apprehension as Dan continued speaking.
The old chief wasn't too concerned regarding the hunters getting injured, for it was a trivial matter that is inevitable every time they left the village.
But he was worried about something else. There are multiple signs of Demon Beasts appearing near the mountain ranges where the hunters usually go hunting.
In the Eflo Woodland, Demon Beasts aren't a rare sight, but they are not common either.
They are the reckless Spirit Beasts that rashly devour other Spirit Beast's beast core. Although their strength skyrocket, they lose their mind and rationalities as a result.
Furthermore, with the said mountain only about 40 kilometers away from their village, Old Fei couldn't help but feel unease.
For a normal Warrior that is not familiar with the route, traveling through the forest for 40 kilometers could take days. However, it was different for Demon Beasts. Depending on the types; they could cover such a distance in less than half an hour with a full sprint.
Since Demon Beasts are extremely bloodthirsty, he wouldn't be surprised if it would come and attack their village.
"The footprints we discovered from the mountain were similar to that of a dog, but it's simply larger than normal, which is almost one meter in length."
Remembering the gory scene back at the mountain, Dan take in a deep breath and couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.
Because that particular mountain was where he and the other hunters in the village go hunting, they were very familiar with the paths and their surroundings.
The place in which a small herd of Forest Boards resides was utterly wiped out, with only blood and fresh bones scattered everywhere.
When Dan and the other arrived to investigate, it was quite lucky that only the strands of dark energy unique to Demon Beast were lingering behind.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have made it back in one piece.
"Sigh...Dan, you go back and rest."
"Don't go hunting anymore until everything is clear. Stay back and guard the village." Old Fei stroked his unkempt beard and said seriously. "Our families and children are here, and we can't have afforded any risk of being attacked while unguarded."
"With our saving accumulated through these years, if the food is short, we could still go to the nearest town to trade for more."
"As for the matter regarding the Demon Beast in the mountain... we will send someone to report it to the Adventure Association." Old Fei said regretfully. "Hopefully, some veteran adventurers would come and exterminate it."
As the strength of Spirit Beasts or Demon Beasts usually stands according to their size.
It was one thing if the Demon Beast is weak, but something with a footprint of one meter in length is not to be underestimated.
This job wouldn't be cheap, especially when the threat in question could potentially be a Rank 3 Demon Beast.
The gold coins which they have accumulated all these years were to purchase the resources for the children to cultivate. However, now that everyone's well-being is at stake, the old chief was left with no other choice.